CTUIR to Build Walking Paths for Students, Community Members

MISSION, Ore. – Construction crews are about a month away from breaking ground on a walking paths project near the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Nixyáawii Governance Center.

Dani Schulte, CTUIR transportation planner, said the $1.5 million project consists of building two walkways – a Safe Routes to School Path sidewalk and a Community Paths trail.

The walkways will serve Nixyáawii Community School (NCS) students and staff as well as Head Start participants. They will also provide foot and bicycle access to the governance center and Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center.

The Safe Routes concrete sidewalk will stretch 1,200 feet south from Mission Road along Highway 331 to Timíne Way, the governance center’s entry road. The Community Paths asphalt trail will diverge from the Safe Routes path after about 475 feet and connect with an existing path on the governance center’s north side.

Combined the two walkways will cover approximately 1,700 linear feet while adding wheelchair accessible ramps and lighting. Crosswalks will also be marked at three of the four corners of the Mission and South Market roads intersection. The unmarked crosswalk will be on the intersection’s northwest corner where there are no residences or businesses.

“The tribal Planning Office conducted outreach prior to submitting (Oregon Department of Transportation) grant applications in 2020, and the four-corners intersection was identified as a location that needs attention,” Schulte said. “We also noticed a lot of comments during the update of the 20-year Transportation Plan requesting more safe paths for walking, biking and horse riding, rather than leaving travelers on the shoulder of high-speed roads. This is one piece of the puzzle to make the Umatilla Indian Reservation safer for travelers who don’t have personal vehicles.”

Schulte said ODOT grants are providing approximately $1.44 million, while the CTUIR is allocating $65,000 from its Capital Improvements Fund.

“The Safe Routes to School and Community Paths programs have been eager to support tribal communities. However, we were the first tribal recipients of either grant,” Schulte said. “We had to work through a lot of unique hurdles being the first, but I hope that means other Oregon tribes will have an easier time given what Safe Routes has learned, and we will too when we apply for future funding rounds.”

Construction is expected to begin in April and last nearly two months. Eastern Oregon Contracting in Milton-Freewater will handle the Safe Routes sidewalk, while Bryson Picard Grading & Excavating in Pendleton will build the Community Paths trail.

Schulte said a short period of single-lane closure is anticipated while the Safe Routes sidewalk is constructed. Weather permitting, the paths should be complete before the end of the NCS school year on June 6.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.